," the Discovery Channel series featuring a group of Oregonians -- isn't entirely real.

So say state regulators in the nation's northernmost state. Some worry about the message that's being sent to roughly 3 million American viewers who've tuned in: The Last Frontier is a land where anything goes.

Three of the 10 shows in the series have already aired, and those have raised a host of concerns about environmental violations from green-minded Oregonians and Alaskans. The show's stars --

who travel north in hopes of striking gold last summer -- have already driven a 50-ton piece of machinery through the gravel beds of a river that looks like salmon habitat. They've killed a black bear near their Southeast Alaskan mining camp that didn't appear to be posing any immediate threat. And they've haphazardly diverted water from a stream by digging a trench -- raising concerns that they again are disturbing fish habitat.

But state regulators say the series has so far failed to explain that producers applied for permits and consulted them before tromping into the wild. Sometimes, a state employee was keeping watch, just a few steps off camera. For the most part, the miners went by the book.

"There are just too many rules," said Jackie Timothy, a regional habitat supervisor for Alaska's

The miner's one clear violation -- diverting water from that stream and failing to screen it to keep small fish out -- was quickly resolved when a state habitat biologist assigned to monitoring the mining camp showed them how to tap groundwater instead.

Timothy said the producers were hoping the biologist would slap them with a citation.

"They were asking him to," Timothy said. "They were a little unhappy that it couldn't be made into some big thing."

She rolls her eyes at the show's depiction of 65-year-old Jack Hoffman driving the 40-ton excavator across the Kleheni River, like he's some sort of pioneer. Timothy said the state allows anyone with equipment too heavy for the nearby Porcupine Bridge to drive across the river.

"It's not a spawning bed," Timothy said. "It's legal to cross there."

Ryan Scott, a biologist for the Department of Fish and Game, said he's received a few calls from viewers worried about the miners' killing -- or as his department puts it, harvesting -- of the bear. Scott said his department investigated, and learned that the Oregonians had acquired all the proper permits and tags. But nonetheless, he said: "I appreciate people's concerns, and I actually applaud it."

-- though, has a bit of a beef with the miners. Officials there say they inadvertently forgot to include a restriction in the mining permit explaining it's against their rules to shoot a bear from a mining camp unless it's in defense of life or property. And it didn't appear this bear was such a threat, officials say.

They plan to send a letter to the miners telling them so.

Kerwin Krause, a geologist for the Department of Natural Resources, also said he thought the show unrealistically portrayed the dangers bears posed to the miners -- with scenes of rustling bushes and fur flashed across the screen.

"It just seemed over-dramatized to me," Krause said. "In a mining camp, with noise and big generators, they stay away. They're not going to usually bother you. They're well fed. There's tons of fish and berries for them to feed on."

Kerwin Krause is uneasy about how the series might end. If it portrays the miners as wildly successful, a stampede of cash-strapped residents from the lower 48 could show up at the state next summer.

Alaska's miners can make a good living, but Krause said it takes a lot of research and planning. He said the miners from Oregon don't appear to have done much analysis of the land, to understand how much precious metal was likely in it.

Jack Hoffman, the oldest and most outspoken of the miners, defends his group against critics who say they fit the stereotypical image of blundering fools venturing to Alaska to strike it rich. Hoffman said they knew what they were doing. He mined for gold in Alaska 25 years ago.

Hoffman also wants people to know he's been an avid outdoorsman his entire life and he respects the environment. He and his comrades were careful to follow rules and get permits.

"People can get worried and that's all fine and dandy, but it had all been taken care of," Hoffman said.

He said part of his backcountry philosophy is letting nothing go to waste. That held true with the bear he and his fellow miners killed.

"I've had lots of bear meat in my life, and I don't really care for it," Hoffman said. "But that one was fantastic."

Although the Discovery Channel won't allow the Oregonians to talk about their take until it's revealed on the show, there's already speculation that the miners plan on returning next summer. That could have to do with how much gold they uncovered, or how big a hit the show has been.

It was the best rated series premiere for the Discovery Channel since the hugely popular series the Deadliest Catch in 2005. After a holiday hiatus, the series resumes with its fourth episode at 10 p.m. Friday, Jan. 7.

Mary Siroky, however, is a reluctant viewer. As an official with the Department of Transportation and Public Facilities, she watched with worry as the miners drove a truck loaded with heavy machinery across an aging bridge. The miners didn't seek permission and Siroky said she doesn't know if they needed it because she doesn't know how much the truck weighed. But she does know that the bridge creaked and groaned.

"It was squeaking, and that was scary," Siroky said. "It was definitely a concern -- such a concern that we're sending our inspection crews out after the first of the year to inspect the bridge."

The series has been spurring questions --

e.g. Can they do that?

-- directed her way.

"The more we get questions, the more I am forced to watch it," Siroky said with a sigh.